The Creation of Trees

Photo by Mel Vyvyan

I was recently commissioned to design and create some metal sculptures of bonsai trees for a friends wedding to be used as center pieces. We had been hanging out at our apartment when they noticed a sculpture I had done with some scrap metal and asked if I could build a bonsai tree. I said I’d give it a try and see what happens. I went into work on a Friday and experimented with a design that failed miserable. I pondered this for a few days and then tried again. This time I was more satisfied with the outcome. I took some pictures and sent them off for approval. I got an enthusiastic thumbs-up so I built seven more for a total of eight metal bonsai trees.

When you work in a shop with a bunch of guys using big tools around giant trucks, you have to resign yourself to some intense questioning when you start doing anything remotely artistic. There are questions about what you are trying to do, why you are doing it, what your sexual orientation is, and whether or not you are going to “flounce about” when you are done with your artsy fartsy nonsense. This interrogation was done all in fun and everyone wanted to know how they came out and wanted to see pictures of them.

I am now going to get a little artsy fartsy with you now. Much like the traditional method of trimming and coaxing the vegetation into a desirable shape, I found that creating these metal renditions produced a similar meditative experience. As I heated and bent the steel this way and that, something occurred to me. These trees could be viewed as a representation of how we must work not only at relationships, but also life. The paths we take from beginning to end are often strangely curved with little reason other then by the will that guides it.

Creating these trees was methodical; each one consists of a 4” by 4” square channel base, a 16” length of steel rod and a 6” length of ¼” steel rod. Each tree was welded with the same machine; heated and bent by the same guy with the same torch, and most were bent on the same day yet each one is different. There are no two alike. Each tree was a different path in the same direction toward the same destination.

The last realization I had occurred while putting the “foliage” on the trunks. After I had welded and bent them into shape I painted them and tossed them into my car to take them home and finish them up there. They were chunks of steel that I could have dropped out the window on the freeway and suffered little more damage that some scraped paint. However as I started sculpting the tufts of steel wool the entire tree took a breath of life and instantly became very delicate. This is an interesting idea. Aside from the epoxy agent used to hold the foliage on the trunk, this tree is entirely made out of steel. Steel stock can be extremely strong and difficult to damage, while steel wool can be easily pulled apart and destroyed. A person could view love and relationships in a similar way. Love can be so strong it convinces a person to live when everything else is against them and yet a relationship can be destroyed in a few simple words.

As I was working on these I took some photographs and video footage because I wanted to make a “Behind the Tree” episode for the Newlywed’s. The bride is a known “Star Wars” fan and the Groom is a “Firefly” Browncoat if I ever met one so I used these elements in the movie. I have waited until after the wedding to post this so that they could have this to themselves for their special day. It was a great honor to do this for them and I thank them for the opportunity.

One of my newest obsessions!!

I found this on line. It is posted on the link at the end of this article. I strongly encourage you to check out this group. The download is free and the site is a great place to find new music.

The Diablo Swing Orchestra dates back to 1501 in Sweden, where history tells the tale of an orchestra that played like no other. With music so seductive and divine that the ensemble overwhelmed audiences all over the country, and people from all social classes took them to their hearts. Their performances rapidly earned a reputation of being feral and vigorous and gained the orchestra a devoted crowd that followed them around.

During the later half of the 16'th century the criticism against the royal crown dictatorial ruling had intensified. Gifts and tenancies had made the chruch extremely wealthy, and since the money merely was used to strengthen their power the discontent among the people was growing. To many people the orchestra presented them to a new view upon things and a way to cope with everyday life.

The church witnessed how their influence over the people decreased and began to depict the orchestra as treacherous, saying their intentions were anything but righteous. The orchestras extensive use of the prohibited tritonus interval in their music as well as their excessive lifestyles was facts that were not looked mildly upon. During church services priests slandered the music saying it was an insult to Christ himself. However, when this attempt to reduce the orchestras popularity failed, the church began to use more desperate measures in order to regain its former power. The Devils orchestra became the slogan they used and the members were accused of being everything from devil worshippers to the spawn of Satan. This catchphrase eventually caught on and became the popular name of the orchestra. When even these efforts shown futile the church ultimately framed the orchestra members for a murder and a ruthless manhunt began. The following two years the orchestra lead the lives of outlaws and were forced to perform in barns and outhouses, where only a strictly limited number of people were allowed to attend. Luckily generous people provided them with food and somewhere to sleep.

In order to capture the orchestra the church issued a reward to the person that could provide such information that lead to the capture of the orchestra. The sum was so large that the orchestra, tired and weary of living as fugitives, realised that it all had come to and end. They knew that sooner or later someone would reveal their whereabouts and the decided to go down in style.
But before doing so they all signed a pact saying that their descendants were given the task of reuniting the orchestra in 500 years and continue their work of spreading thought-provoking music. Six envelopes were therefore sealed and given to trustees of the orchestra to pass on to family members.

They announced their final concert publicly as a grandeur finale. Thousands of people showed up and even though it was almost no one who could actually hear the music, the massive sing-along of the crowd granted the performance to be the most talked about in history. Thanks to the huge amount of people the orchestra was allowed to play until their last song when armed guards finally managed to storm the stage and arrest the musicians. They were sent prison and later sentenced to death by hanging.

Stockholm 2003, by mere accident two of the original orchestra descendants meet in a music shop and began to discuss music. It later shows that they both have received a strange letter from some ancient relative containing instructions on how to reunite The Devils Orchestra. They both become very excited and though some genealogy they managed to find all of the remaining successors in a period of three months.

Unfortunate all of the original scores were confiscated and burned by the church back in 1503. So music-wise the new orchestra were left with no directions on what to play. After some meticulous discussions it was agreed upon that the music should be like a modern version of the old orchestra. Annlouice was chosen to front the band, her angelic yet powerful operatic voice was perfect to bring a bombastic feeling to the music. Pontus dance-influences and programming skills came in handy since the orchestra wanted the arrangements to sound a bit more futuristic. He shares guitar duties with Daniel who also is the main composer in the band. Andy brought some groove to the mix adding powerful slapping and funk-oriented bass licks, while Andreas's energetic drumming made sure the songs are driven and pulsating. Together with Anders, he lays the solid swinging foundation of the band. Johannes's theoretical knowledge and stunning technique combined with an emotive cello-playing style made him essential to the bands sound.

Together they answer to the name of Diablo Swing Orchestra and are determined to honour the legacy of their ancestors.

You can download their first full release if you follow the link in my sidebar. It takes you right to the bands page. The album is FREE. This website is a good place to find new and upcoming bands. I hope you check it out.

Ten Great Heavy Metal Songs

I love music of all kinds but I have a soft spot for Heavy Metal. In this post I thought I would share some of my favorite songs. This is not a top Ten and I do not have a Favorite song. I dig music based on the mood I’m in. The following songs are songs that are great and I have never gotten sick of them. I would recommend anyone not versed in Metal check out the studio versions of these songs to get the original feel, and if you are a Head Banger, I hope this brings a smile to your face and a crick to your neck.

• Anthrax – “Indians” – This song has one of the greatest “Mosh Buildups” written into a song. There is held metal vocal note, a unison of rhythm guitar and bass chugging and a build on the drums and the band hollers “War Dance” and no matter where I am I bang into that beat.
• Megadeth – “Holy Wars…The Punishment Due” – The first taste people get of what is considered the pinnacle of Megadeth’s recording career is this cold, crisp, and complex example of what can be done within the realm of speed metal. The bands founder, lead singer and Commander in Chief, Dave Mustaine, creates a massive epic that spans past five minutes but feels like just a moment. This song has sent many young guitar player back to their basements dragging their guitars behind them in frustrations and embarrassment.
• Metallica – “Damage Inc” – I look back to a time before short hair, lawsuits, and documentaries about therapy to a time when the slogan was “Fuck it all with Fucking no regrets” and smile. Any Metallica fan prior to 1991 will tell you that you must own all four of the bands major albums, listen to them and love them to understand the backlash that they have endured since the release of The Black Album titles Metallica. I am one of those fans, and this song is one of the many reasons why.
• Trivium – “Pull harder on the strings of your Martyr” – This is an example of what new metal should be; Fast and angry.
• Rammstein – “Feuer Frei” – I knew I would have a Rammstein song on this list, but coming up with just one was a real dilemma. Rammstein is in my top 10 favorite metal bands list and jockeys for position but will never leave that list. This song appeared in the first “Triple X” movie and people thought all the fire was for the movies sake. Wrong! That’s their gig! As far as I’m concerned the movie could have been written around their set.
• Slayer – “Dead Skin Mask” – Written for Wisconsin’s own Ed Gein, Slayer mixes vivid imagery with grinding music to take you out to Plainfield, Wisconsin where the back story to movies like “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Psycho were born.
• Static X – “Start a War” – Wayne Static’s choppy, rhythmic delivery of the lyrics mixed with the dependable Static X aggression allows for a song destined to stand up for metal heads generations from now.
• Ozzy Osbourne – “Perry Mason” – It’s easy to over look the odd lyrical content of this song when the uncharacteristic weight of the music lands on you like a Buick full of mid-westerners. The guitar tone and brutality of this song more that makes up for eyebrow raising words.
• Iron Maiden – “The Trooper” – A textbook example of British Heavy Metal from the galloping bass lines to the twin lead guitar lines, overshot with the operatic metal voice of their signature vocalist Bruce Dickinson, this song is a metal anthem!
• Motorhead – “March or Die” – This song is my favorite Motorhead tune. To me, it musically captures World War II. It is a rolling juggernaut of music with Lemmy’s growl and the ever present but well used synth sound and the musical peak at the end under the chant Die,Die,Die…Whew, what up mood generator.